Image courtesy of Sled Island’s website.
The Garrys performed during Sled Island on Wednesday, 9pm at Ship & Anchor & Saturday, 6:30pm at Palomino (Main Floor).
TRANSCRIPT:
Emily (CJSW)
My name is Emily, and I’m here on behalf of CJSW radio at this year’s Sled Island Music and Arts Festival. Today, we’re sitting down with Erica, Julie, Lenore, and Matthew from Saskatoon-based four piece The Garrys. How are you?
The Garrys
We’re great. Thanks for having us.
Emily (CJSW)
Yeah, my pleasure. Maybe, for starters, can I get you to introduce yourselves and your role in the band?
Julie
Sure. My name is Julie. I play the bass.
Erica
My name is Erica, and I play guitar and sing, and Julie also sings.
Lenore
My name is Lenore, and I play the drums and sing as well.
Matthew
I am Matthew. I play guitar and keyboard.
Emily (CJSW)
Right on, so this is your first time or fourth time playing Sled Island since making your debut at the festival back in 2017. What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival?
Erica
It’s been a little while since we’ve been here. So we haven’t been here since the pandemic happened, and for me, we’ve done a lot of traveling in the last five years and been to a lot of other festivals, and it just really made me appreciate how cool Sled Island is. It’s a very unique place, and there’s just so many amazing bands to see. And any little pocket you go into, you run into music that’s like, new and exciting. So for me, that’s what I’m most excited about.
Julie
Yeah, maybe add something that’s a little more inward facing or selfish, I guess. But we’re working on new music, so I think we’re excited just to try it out, like we played a song last night that we had never done live before. So yeah, just getting some songs out of our jam space and in front of audiences is exciting. So yeah, that’s it. We’re kind of in that period at this moment.
Lenore
I was just discussing with a friend about how Sled Island is, in my opinion, like a festival for artists. And the artist experiences is, at least for us historically, really awesome. And since we haven’t been here since 2019 you kind of forget that. And then you come back and you’re reminded of that, which is really nice. So it’s a, there’s a reason why Sled is so great is because it’s beloved by the artists who play at the festival. I think if the artists weren’t treated the way they were, or if there wasn’t that sense of artist community, it wouldn’t have the ‘zhuzh’ that it has. So for me, that’s pretty special and cool to experience.
Matthew
Yeah, like Jules said it’s my first time at Sled Island, and like Lenore said, you hear so much about it back home in Saskatoon. So to finally experience it, to play here, but also as a viewer, a listener, right? So we’re excited to be here.
Emily (CJSW)
Right on. Well, welcome back. Is there anything that you look forward to every time you come to Calgary?
Lenore
Well, I’m trying to get these guys to go to Calaway Park with me and ride the log ride, but it’s not really selling, so might have to go alone.
Emily (CJSW)
You’re braver than I, haha.
Lenore
I think we went, we were kids, so I’m trying to get, like, the recreate the family photo, but I don’t know, not working out.
Erica
Yeah, there’s lots of fun stuff to do in Calgary. It’s a bigger city than Saskatoon, so it’s just kind of fun to do all that stuff.
Julie
Yeah, we usually run into like, some of our Calgary pals when we’re here. So that’s nice, yeah, just folks we don’t see super often, like we saw our friend Noah yesterday, and hadn’t seen him in a long time. So yeah, it’s just a chance to catch up with people from Calgary.
Lenore
Pete’s Drive In.
Emily (CJSW)
Pete’s Drive In, or Peter’s-
Lenore
Peter’s Drive In. Yeah, and there’s a new place. Well, new-it’s not new, but a cool place. We just are going to Edelweiss. We’re gonna check that place out.
Emily (CJSW)
Oh, that place is a classic. Yeah, I grew up down the street from there, and always look forward to getting my pretzels. You put out your debut, Warm Buds, I believe nine years ago, can you speak to how your definition of success has changed over the years?
Lenore
Well, I think success is a weird word, and it’s very subjective, and it can be whatever you define it to be, so I don’t know. We’ve never really discussed what success means as a band. We’d probably all have different ideas of it, but I think that we’re still here, and we’re still a band totally so that is success to someone’s definition, to still be in existence and still creating music together and evolving together. So for me, that’s a win.
Julie
Yeah, I was just thinking about, like, how each record we’ve made, I feel like we’ve gotten better at it, like we know the process of recording better and have maybe a clear, more clear vision of what we’re trying to do. And I think musically, we’ve gotten better. So I think, like, in terms of just artistic success and being like, yeah, we made something we’re proud of that’s kind of evolving, and just as we get better as musicians, I’m really looking forward to recording in the future too, because it will be the first time we do a full album with Matthew. We recorded just our last single with him, and, yeah, just having that extra little bit of creative energy and a second set of hands on guitar and keys, I think, lets us do more stuff. So, yeah, I think that just continues to to evolve for us.
Erica
Something for me that I think about in terms of, like, success. I guess when we recorded Warm Buds, I remember playing guitar when you’re in the studio. And the guy who was recording for us, he was like, ‘Can you play with a little more conviction?’ And I was like, ‘What the hell does that mean?’ And so just like musically, I feel like success in the way that I just feel like I am a lot better as a musician, as a vocalist, as a guitar player, and even just the way that we communicate about music, I think that has evolved in a really neat way. And so for me, like, it’s just so exciting that we kind of evolve our sound and then people still care. So for me, that’s really exciting. And I would say that meets the definition of success.
Emily (CJSW)
Totally. So maybe it’s less about success, but finding new ways to kind of push the boundary and develop as musicians. That’s great.
Lenore
I think when we did our first album, I don’t think we took any chances, you know, like, I think it was pretty straightforward, like, what we were doing with song structure and everything, and for us, I think at the time it was, it was like learning how to ride a bike or something, I don’t know, but I think now, when we’re writing new music, we’re taking a lot more chances and, like, more comfortable with, like, what happens when we go over here? What happens when we go over here? Whereas, I think just a bit of an evolution, I think, which is kind of that successful, I think too.
Emily (CJSW)
Yeah, I guess, branching off of that, you released a song last year called “Cakewalk,” and I believe that was your first release since 2021’s “Get Thee to a Nunnery,” and also the first song since Matthew joined the band. I’m curious, did you find your creative process changed significantly with the addition of Matthew, or was it kind of finding the missing piece to a puzzle?
Erica
I think, for having Matthew join us as a songwriter has been really refreshing in a lot of ways. I think it also is like, made me realize some of the ways that the three sisters, like communicated in our jam space was like, maybe not the most efficient sometimes, or it’d be like, I don’t know-it’s not like telepathic or anything, but it’s like, you’ll have ways that you communicate about music with people that you make music with, and sometimes it doesn’t really make very much sense. So it sort of exposed that a little bit in a way that I think made has made me try to, like, think about the way that I talk and listen to people’s creative ideas in a different way. But, yeah, it’s just been, it’s been interesting too, because Matthew has a different perspective. Like, when we’re writing a set list for a show, we’ll be like, ‘Well, Matthew, what do you think about like, what will be the the heater, like, the banger tonight?’ And he’ll be like, ‘Why don’t we play this one?’ So it’s just an interesting perspective, because it’s different than, like, what the three of us had thought before.
Matthew
Yeah, I can’t really comment on what the process was like before I joined, obviously, but I think moving forward, we’re just trying to, like, really set clear roles for each instrument, right? So Erica taking the brunt of the guitar work right? And even just like multi tracking guitars and layering that right, just so much easier with a second guitar, and able to texture that a little better. And then, yeah, like I said, just trying to have a clear role with two guitars and how that changes and opens things up for Erica and Julie, and even Lenore, I think it’s just the entire dynamic changes completely right?
Emily (CJSW)
Yeah, right on. Let’s see. “Cakewalk” explores the nuggets of good advice that we’ve kind of all ignored and kind of the existential discomfort of holding multiple truths and whatnot. I’m curious, is there a particular piece of advice that you’ve been given in the past that you maybe wish you adhered to?
Erica
Yeah, I want to answer this one, my mom, our mom, is always saying, ‘You’re burning the candle at both ends.’ So we all have full time jobs, and then we’re musicians on top of that, but that’s something where just always hear my mom’s voice in my head saying that to me, and I’m like, yeah, I know she’s right, but I’m still doing it.
Lenore
Sort of similar. I think the message is similar. But I remember I was having to make, like, a really big, kind of stressful, sort of like, decision, life decision at one point, and I was asking our dad for advice, and he said, ‘Walk, don’t run.’ Which is, of course, a name of a Beach Boy song. And I did, you know it’s me, it can be easy to knee jerk, react into things and make decisions because you feel like you’re not giving yourself the time to think about it, right? So walk, don’t run, is, is good advice almost all the time, and sometimes it’s easy to ignore as well.
Emily (CJSW)
Your music is kind of reminiscent of 60s, surf rock and psych. I’m curious, what part do you think nostalgia plays in your music?
Julie
I think it’s been, like, pretty constant. Just say, I think, like, a lot of the reference points that we have as a band of like artists that we’ve all like been fans of, a lot of those are nostalgic acts. Like, if we, if each of us individually made a list of like the new artists that were listening to, it’d be quite diverse. I think, like, not a ton of overlap there. But if we made a list of like artists we all like, probably most of them would be from, like, the 70s and earlier. So I think that factors into it. And then also, I think just like growing up together, you know, you’re so influenced by your parents music and so like, for us, like stuff that was on the radio when we were at home as kids, like, I think of things like, you know, The Beach Boys, or, like, Motown stuff, and just like older things like that. We used to, like, watch old reruns from the Ed Sullivan Show. And, you know, it was, it was our parents music, because it was like Boomer music. But to me, that’s kind of music of my childhood. And so music my childhood and playing music with my siblings kind of goes hand in hand, so I think that’s part of it.
Emily (CJSW)
Okay, I have a couple more questions for you, folks. Let’s see you take a lot of inspiration from your upbringing in rural Saskatchewan. I’m curious, what is something that you feel people get wrong about Saskatchewan?
Erica
Okay, well, we were talking about this on the drive up is we had a family road trip when we were little, and it was like a bus driver rolled down his window just to, like, heckle our dad, and was like, ‘Who’s watching the farm?’ And like, we’re not from a farm. We’re from, we’ve lived in the city of Saskatoon our whole life, but I think a lot of people just assume that it’s flat wheat fields, but Saskatchewan is super diverse, and a lot of people overlook it. And I think because of that, we’ve got these, like, really long winters. You’ve got a lot of people there that are, like, dealing with that. And there’s a pretty amazing art scene there and a music scene. And I’m always really impressed by, like, the caliber of music and art that’s in the prairie provinces, but Saskatchewan especially, and I think the people just like overlook it, because they like so often touring bands just hop right over. So for me, like, that’s, I think, a big misconception. And there’s also over 100,000 lakes in Saskatchewan. So yeah, it’s kind of, it’s more wet than you think.
Lenore
Yeah, it’s in the summertime, especially, like, there’s some of the best camping you’ve ever had, you know. And, of course, there’s you can go to, like a lake every weekend for your entire life, and never go to the same one twice, you know. So it’s like, I think people just think there’s nothing really in Saskatchewan, but there’s a lot of beautiful nature.
Matthew
I think for Saskatoon specifically, like a common mantra we hear lots from people visiting is like, ‘Oh, wow, Saskatoon is really beautiful.’ Like, they’re surprised, they’re shocked. And obviously, you know, on the river, it’s beautiful, gorgeous place. And so we know that growing up there, but people are often seem like almost surprised that it’s not super boring.
Emily (CJSW)
I guess. on a similar note, is there anyone or anything that you’d like to shout out from back home?
Julie
I think, like an obvious one from Saskatoon, if you’re a fan of music and Tex Mex food, Amigos is like a legendary venue in Saskatoon. It’s like, when you’re a band coming up in Saskatoon, it’s like the place you want to play. It’s you aspire to it. You know, if you’re a young music fan, you see your favourite bands there. And it’s just they’re really great to artists. They have great food. It’s just always a really good vibe in there. So yeah, we’ll recommend Amigos forever.
Erica
There’s a festival that we started, and it’s held at Manitou Beach. It’s the second weekend in July, called The Salt Shaker. And if you don’t know, little Manitou Lake, little, Little Manitou Lake. Pardon me, at Manitou Beach, it’s a saltwater lake, and it’s just kind of a really neat kind of resort town that sort of reached its peak a few decades ago. But it’s the community there is really amazing and just doing a lot of really cool stuff. And so, yeah, we hold the festival there. And yeah, do you want to talk a little more about it?
Lenore
Yeah, this year we’ve got a few Sled Island acts as well, which is cool. Victrix is playing Salt Shaker this year. We’re playing, we always play, and Tea Fannie as well. We’ve had lots of Sled Island alumni play. And it’s a cool-it’s a cool festival with some creative overlap, for sure, with a Salt Shaker or with Sled Island sorry, but it’s in a small, small, little town. So, yeah, check it out.
Emily (CJSW)
What’s next for The Garrrys after Sled? You mentioned you’re working on new music, maybe some more touring?
Julie
Well, yeah, we are working on new music, and have a few things in the can music wise that we want to flesh out to an album. But we have some personal things coming up on the horizon, and two of us are expecting babies in the next six months.
Emily (CJSW)
Congratulations.
Julie
Thank you. So that will, you know, shift the gears for us a little bit. Little bit. So not so much touring, but we’re able to, I think, do more writing. We’ve got maybe some opportunities on the horizon to work on some film score stuff, so things like that that will help us, you know, stay a little bit closer to home while still maintaining our creative energy while we can so, yeah, I think that’s kind of what’s on the horizon. Anybody else want to add anything?
Emily (CJSW)
Amazing. Thank you so much for sitting down. You can catch The Garrys next on Saturday, June 21 when they grace the Palomino main floor at 6:30. Enjoy your time in Calgary and maybe see around you.